Mother's Night
by Sexidebater
Summary: Everything in Hermione's life was finally going perfectly, perfect husband, perfect baby, even a perfect mother in law, but it all changes at the Yule Party.


This is my VERY first contest entry for Twistmas 2019! You can also find this on Archive I'm hyped up about it! Also my first time on Archive! Thank you for this chance everyone! I hope you like it! Obviously, favorite and reviews! Let me know how I did! Also, I have a Pinterest aestetics board if anyone is interested! Thank you again!

Cassiopeia Rose Malfoy came into this world bright pink, kicking and screaming. Her hair, stark white like her father's, and curly like her mother's.

A full head of massive curly hair, something big for something so tiny.

She had ten perfect fingers and ten perfect toes. Draco made sure to count each one as he held her before passing her off to his exhausted wife.

Hermione's smile from ear to ear as she cooed over her new little one. She didn't feel a thing as the mediwitch stitched her up, after there had been some tearing.

Cassiopeia was born on the Fall Equinox, a very symbolic day for the wizarding world, when the daytime and nighttime hours synced perfectly. It was a powerful day on which to be born. She was fixing to be as powerful as both her mother and father.

A revolving door of visitors streamed in over the rest of Hermione's stay at St. Mungo's. The most steady visitor was Luna Lovegood who brought gifts she slated for protection each time. A brilliant blue evil eye pendant attached to a small bracelet with white beads, a preserved four-leaf clover necklace, a handmade necklace of acorns, a white rabbit's foot, and a golden scarab beetle amulet. Each gift more bizarre than the previous. Luna would barely look the new parents in the eyes, mainly mumbling to herself and to little Cassiopeia.

The day that Hermione left St. Mungo's, Luna came in as Hermione was exiting the bathroom. Draco was at the Manor, double checking the nursery one last time.

Luna looked panicked. Her eyes darted around the room, as if looking for Draco. When she saw that she and Hermione were alone, save for the baby, Luna grabbed Hermione's hands and held them in hers.

"Hermione, you trust me right?" Luna said, panic creeping into her voice.

Hermione was startled but nodded, "Of course I trust you Luna."

"Good. Take this one last gift." Luna said as she released Hermione's hands and pulled a horseshoe out of her pocket. Luna shoved the horseshoe into Hermione's hands. "Put this above Cassiopeia's crib. Right above where she lays her head. Facedown so the luck may trickle onto her sleepy little head. Promise me that you will do this!"

Hermione was shocked but nodded, "Yeah, I promise. Simple enough request."

Luna forced a smile, "Thank you, Hermione. Cassiopeia is going to need all the luck she can get."

Luna darted out of the room before Hermione could ask her what she meant by that phrase. Hermione chalked it up to Luna just being Luna. Yet something seemed different this time. None of the gifts were made up plants or from made up creatures. They were good luck charms from around the world.

Hermione pushed the worry out of her mind. She had a baby to take care of now. That took priority over trying to understand Luna's thought process.

The wizarding world had initially been shocked when Hermione and Draco announced that they were together. They had gotten together while at Hogwarts during their eighth year. As study partners for potions, their first study session together had led to an uneasy truce so as to put the past behind them and focus on their grades.

It evolved from there, studying simply for potions into studying for all their NEWTS classes. They had almost every class together, the eighth years being so small of a class size that they didn't bother separating them into house classes.

Draco first kissed Hermione when they got caught under some mischievous mistletoe three days before Christmas. Neither felt like leaving school for the holidays, NEWTS taking up their minds, and not wanting to deal with their families.

Hermione had no family to return to, the spell on her parents being irreversible. And the Weasleys, well, since she and Ron hadn't worked out, Molly had been cold to her.

When Draco kissed Hermione, she decided that she liked it, and their relationship went from there.

They managed to keep it hidden for a few months, not wanting to deal with the scandal that would come with the announcement, but Draco blew that out of the water at graduation when Draco snogged the hell out of Hermione in front of the Daily Prophet photographer.

After the initial shock wore off, the wizarding community moved on, and they quickly became old news.

A year later, Draco proposed, and a year after that, Hermione found out she was pregnant and now they had a perfect little girl to raise.

Things were looking up for Hermione and Draco.

When the small but happy family returned to the Manor, where Narcissa cooed and doted on Cassiopeia non-stop. The baby wasn't even a week old and she was already spoilt rotten.

Hermione found that breast-feeding was hard, and after many consultations with a mediwitch, decided to go the muggle route and just bottle-feed the baby. It caused a rift between her and Narcissa, but Hermione won in the end when Cassiopeia wouldn't stop crying from hunger since she wouldn't latch.

Things went perfectly for a few months, and with the holidays coming up, Hermione had finally found peace.

With Hermione being the wife of the Draco, who was head of house since his father had been sentenced to life in prison, Hermione was Lady of the Manor and was tasked with maintaining the Manor and hosting the traditional parties. While Hermione would usually buck tradition, a few parties here and there wouldn't kill her.

The biggest one of the year was always the Yuletide Party, celebrated on December 21st, otherwise known as the Winter Solstice.

Purebloods recognized Christmas as a day to give gifts, but they didn't view it as the day Christ was born. Purebloods chose to follow the old traditions and follow the old gods.

Hermione got behind these traditions quickly, finding it more pleasing than anything else she had ever celebrated with her family.

This would be her second year hosting the party, and the pressure was on. The previous year had been completely nerve wracking, being her first time planning anything that big. She and Narcissa had bonded during that time, Hermione seeking advice from the elder witch.

They had had a strained relationship since Hermione was muggleborn and they had stood on different sides of the war, but spending time over picking out napkins and decorating trees brought them closer together and now they called themselves friends.

This year was going to be more extravagant than the previous year., Hermione had decided, she wanted to go all out, and to truly celebrate the birth of Cassiopeia. While her picture had been published in the Prophet, this would be her first real introduction to the wizarding world. Of course, she would only be there for about half an hour before she would be whisked off for bedtime.

Much to Hermione's frustration, the Manor still had house elves. It was impossible to run the Manor without them. But with her prodding, they were paid weekly for their work, given days off, and treated fairly. Dobby did not die in vain as far as Hermione was concerned.

Six days before the ball, Draco and Narcissa were acting funny. Hermione didn't fail to notice that they were talking to each other in hushed tones, just out of reach of her hearing capabilities.

It didn't stress Hermione out too much; she figured through were simply planning a Christmas surprise for her.

Hermione continued to decorate the Christmas trees with wandless magic. She had been challenging herself to learn, so far it was going well. She was honing her power and was pleased with herself.

The trees were gold, green, and white. The Christmas bulbs were mainly silver, with some dragon decorations.

Hermione hummed to herself as she continued to work the tinsel. Her magic REALLY helped her reach the top of the eight-foot trees.

A few minutes later, a house elf popped into the room.

"Mistress, baby Cassiopeia has awakened from her nap." Dolly said.

Hermione smiled and nodded. "Thank you Dolly."

Hermione left the ballroom and traversed up the stairs to retrieve her daughter.

Draco sat in his study in his desk chair. His mother lounged on the couch with a cool cloth on her forehead.

"Draco" she groaned, "We should just do it and fake SIDS. It will be much easier."

"No, I refuse to lie to my wife." Draco snapped.

He took a sip of his fire whisky and stared at the fire. "I will talk some sense into her. And if she doesn't agree, we will erase her memory and fake SIDS. But I want to try to get her to understand."

"It won't work." Narcissa sung.

"Let's just try my way, and if she doesn't see reason, we'll try yours. That is the end of his discussion."

The next evening after Hermione put Cassiopeia down for bed, Dolly told her that Draco was asking for her in the study.

Hermione shrugged. She rarely entered the study, it was more of Draco's private spot to get away, just like the library was hers.

Hermione made her way down and knocked on the door softly.

"Come in," Draco said.

Hermione entered and found Narcissa sitting on the lounge and Draco with his back turned to them in front of the fire.

"Take a seat please." Draco said as he turned to face her and sat himself.

He folded his hands under his chin and stared at his wife for a few seconds.

Hermione raises an eyebrow, "Well?" She asked.

"Darling, I want you to keep an open mind." Draco said.

Hermione nodded, "I guess I can try. It depends on what it is."

Narcissa sighed, "She's not going to like it."

"Well we're going to try," Draco snapped.

Draco focused on Hermione.

"Hermione, I know you buck tradition, but this is one tradition I'm putting my foot down, you will accept it."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "It will depend on what it is. You ought to know that."

"Just get to it Draco." Narcissa said.

Draco cleared his throat. "The Malfoy's have a ceremony that guarantees a male heir for the next pregnancy. It goes back generations, centuries. I am putting my foot down on this one. The Malfoy's have to have a male heir to protect our fortune and continue our name and legacy. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I can understand, but I'm scared of what you'll say next."

"Our ceremony is that if a female is born before a male, she is offered to the gods to guarantee a male heir for the next child. It's a ceremony known as Mōdraniht, otherwise known as Mother's Night."

"Offered to the gods?" Hermione whispered. "Do you mean sacrificed? Blood magic?"

Draco kept his calm as he nodded his head. "Yes. It is rare for Malfoy's to have more than one child, but a male child is most important. This is the best thing for Cassiopeia. Bad luck will fall on our family unless we continue this tradition. It has been bucked before, and that generation was practically wiped out by the Black Plague. We were saved by pregnancies out of wedlock by Astrid, who specifically had children out of wedlock to keep the name. Scandalous maybe, but necessary. She saved the family from extermination."

Hermione swallowed and blinked hard. She was silent for a few moments.

"What happens if I don't agree?" Hermione asked softly.

"Then I will erase your memory and we will fake Cassiopeia's death. It will happen whether you like it or not."

Hermione took a deep breath. Her mind was racing as she tried to figure a way out. She decided the best way to stop it would be to fake her compliance.

"Okay, I understand."

Narcissa couldn't hide her surprise.

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

Hermione nodded, "I don't want bad luck. I want to protect the family name. We are young, we can always have a few more children. That is one tradition we can end."

The lies left Hermione's tongue with ease. She surprised herself, keeping a poker face. She knew her usual tell was twitching her nose. She forced herself to stay still.

Draco forced a smile, "I'm glad you see reason."

"When will it happen?"

"In five days, on the solstice after the party."

Hermione nodded.

Hermione left the study a few minutes later and waited until she was far enough to start hyperventilating. Tears burned at her eyes.

She had five days to figure out how to save her baby.

And by Merlin's beard, she would figure it out, or her name wasn't Hermione Granger.

Hermione struggled for days, hiding her emotions from Draco and Narcissa, along with the elves. Her poker face was perfect.

When she wasn't decorating and doing party preparations, she was in the library studying up on the Malfoy traditions. It was hard to find the one that was about to happen because it was so heinous, but she found it three days before the solstice; her eyes burning from staring at all the words on the page.

The 'Assurance' ceremony is performed on the first born female of the family of a male heir was not born first. It is a tradition dating back to the 1500s, first commissioned and performed by Castor Malfoy to ensure a male heir. It was in response to a curse that guaranteed no male heirs for the family unless blood was offered under either solstice, the Winter or Summer, Mōdraniht or Litha, when the hours of the day are the shortest or the longest.

The curse was placed on the Malfoy family by Edmund Bones. Edmund is most commonly known as 'The Warlock' from the 'Wizard's Hairy Heart' from 'Tales of Beedle the Bard.'

The way to break the curse has never been found or even attempted, so the ceremony must be performed.

Hermione blinked back tears, trying to keep calm. It was a curse placed by an evil wizard. It was so far unbreakable.

But she had to try.

Hermione quickly penned a letter to Bill Weasley. If anyone could break a curse, it was him. She told him everything, copying the passage word from word. She pleaded with him.

The next day went by painfully slow, and Hermione got a letter back from Bill 2 days before the solstice.

Hermione,

I am sorry to hear from you in such an unfortunate situation. I have shared your letter with my fellow curse breakers and we are working around the clock to figure out a solution. We've found the original curse already, we have a few people already working in the ministry with "Office for the Removal of Curses, Jinxes, and Hexes."

While keeping the problem on the downlow, there is an entire team working on the situation. I don't know if we will have a solution in time though, so you might have to fight back if you can't convince Draco to hold off on the ceremony. I haven't informed Harry yet because you wrote to me, not him.

Please, protect that innocent life. I will be attending the ball as the Weasley's have been invited, I assume by you. Which I appreciate. I will be the only one of my family members in attendance but it will give us a chance to talk.

I will see you soon, and I will come immediately if we found a solution.

Stay safe,

Bill Weasley

For the first time, Hermione had hope. Hope that she could save her baby from a horrible ceremony.

It was the day before the ball when Hermione picked up her ballgown from from a muggle shop. Usually dress robes were worn to these parties, but Hermione was determined to look like a goddess. She needed false confidence.

Her dress was a fire engine red ball gown with long sleeves with a lace overlay. It had a crystal belt. The sleeves hung off her shoulder.

Hermione tried the dress on one more time in the shop before paying her remaining balance and found it to fit like a glove. It was perfect for what she needed.

She carried the dress into an alley and apparated back to the manor where she found Cassiopeia in the arms of Narcissa who was cooing over her.

Hermione swallowed back her vomit. How dare this woman coo over a baby she was slated to sacrifice in about forty-eight hours.

But Hermione said nothing as she made her way up the stairs to her room to put the dress away.

She returned downstairs to find Narcissa still cooing. Hermione forced a smile at her and held out her arms, where Cassiopeia was placed.

Hermione whisked her upstairs under the guise of feeding, which was required. Narcissa just wasn't good with bottle feeding, finding it to be such a muggle concept that she simply couldn't figure it out.

While Cassiopeia suckled on the bottle as Hermione rocked her in the rocking chair in the nursery, Hermione's mind wandered to what Bill would say. She also wondered if she would be able to convince the Malfoys that the curse was broken, if Bill and his friends could break it in time.

And her mind wandered to what she would have to do if the curse wasn't broken in time. She accepted that she would have to fight back. She would do her best to not kill, only maim, but she would do what she had to.

A mother's love knows no bounds.

The night of the ball finally came, and Hermione was adding the finishing touches to her outfit. She put on the chandelier diamond earrings that Draco had gotten her for her birthday.

Draco surprised her that morning with an antique gold locket with a ruby in the center. When Hermione opened it, she found a photo of Cassiopeia giggling.  
Draco meant it as a memento. Hermione found that it further drove her will to save her daughter.

She pulled on her stilettos and went downstairs to great her guests.

Dolly brought down Cassiopeia a few minutes later. All of the arriving guests cooed over the baby as they entered the hall leading to the ballroom.

Bill gave her a smile and a wink when he arrived. Draco looked puzzled as Bill tapped Cassiopeia's nose gently.

Once all the guests had arrived, Dolly returned to whisk Cassiopeia away and off to bed.

Music was playing when Draco and Hermione entered the ballroom and Draco took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

As customary, the host and hostess led the first dance.

The music changed to a waltz and Draco led her around the floor. They were joined by other couples seconds later.

Hermione was just grateful that she didn't trip in her stilettos, she was still getting accustomed to wearing them.

After a few songs, they exited the dance floor and Draco struck up a conversation with the Minister of Magic.

Hermione excused herself under the guise of wanting a drink and went to find Bill.

He wasn't hard to find with his bright red hair. He was standing by one of the Christmas trees talking with a ministry official.

When he locked eyes with her, he excused himself from the conversation.

He stalked over to Hermione.

"Balcony, now." He said.

Hermione followed him out to the balcony where it was quieter than the inside with the music and din of conversations.

There was a heating charm above it so the frigid air didn't hurt the party. It was sparsely populated as the party had just begun and there was no reason for people to get fresh air yet.

"So, what is the verdict?" Hermione whispered, wringing her hands.

Bill sighed as he leaned against the balcony. "We're super close to breaking the curse, but it won't be for another few days. You're going to have to fight. We're trying, but it's a complicated curse that requires a lot of counter spells. Once we have it, we will let you know, in the meantime, you will need to defend Cassiopeia."

Hermione swallowed and struggled to keep the tears back, she didn't want her make-up smearing, it would be a tell that something was wrong.

"How do I fight back?"

"Anything you can think of will work. Cassiopeia's life is in your hands. I'm so sorry, but we tried to get it done in time. It's just too complicated." Bill said morosely.

He took her hands in his, "It will be okay. Do you want me to hide out after the party to help?"

Hermione shook her head, "No, they will run spells to check for anyone remaining after the party. They don't want anyone to see or find out. It will be hard enough for me to hide my intentions."

Bill nodded, "Then I will be awaiting the news of what will happen. I wish you the best of luck. I will be returning to the ministry now to continue the work. Parties were never really my thing anyway."

"Thank you Bill. For everything." Hermione said quietly, "And I will fight. That is my child, the love of my life, I will not let her die. Tradition be damned."

Bill gave a faint smile and patted her shoulder, "'Atta girl."

Bill left Hermione on the balcony, where she gripped the banister and took a few deep breaths.

That is where Draco found her a few minutes later.

He touches the small of her back gently. Hermione turned to him and smiled.

"Hello darling," she said softly.

Draco kissed her cheek, "Hello my dear. Are you alright?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, I just needed a minute. Had to talk to Bill."

"What did you talk to him about? I thought it was strange that he was here." Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There is a book I'm interested in in Knockturn Alley. The problem is that it is cursed, so I wanted advice on how to break the curse. He offered to come talk about it in person. And he's going to join me on a trip so we can figure it out." Hermione said coolly.

The lies were becoming easier and easier to tell.

Draco nodded, "Well that's good. You could have just talked to me though. I'm fairly good at curse breaking."

Hermione shrugged, "It seemed like a very complex curse. I wanted advice from a professional. It's kind of him to offer his services after everything went down with Ron. But Bill is a good man."

"Well, care to rejoin the party?"

Hermione smiled and nodded, "Of course!"

Hermione's mind was racing as she rejoined the party. Draco kept his hand on the small of her back, leading her through the crowd.

Draco frowned. He had always been good at occlumency. He had to be with the Dark Lord living in his house. He had things he wanted to hide.

He gently prodded Hermione's mind, not wanting to alert her that he was there. It didn't matter. Her mind was like an open book. She was thinking about how to stop them before Bill and his friends could break the curse. She was preparing to fight.

Draco was surprised that she was working on breaking the curse, but he shouldn't expect anything less. Yet Draco didn't have time to wait for them to break the curse. The ceremony couldn't wait. It was dependent on what solstice would come first. If they missed this solstice and the curse was found to be unbreakable, then bad luck would befall them, and they wouldn't have another opportunity.

It was a risk he wasn't willing to take.

He had to intervene and stop her.

He would have to alter her mind, but he couldn't do that with all these people, he would have five days of memories to erase. He would give her a sleeping drought instead and erase her mind later, after the ceremony.

They returned to the dance floor for a few more dances before Draco offered to get them some butterbeer.

He came back moments later with two pint glasses full of the delicious drink.

Hermione took a few sips of her Butterbeer and felt strange. She set the glass down and grabbed the table for stability, then collapsed.

She heard gasps around her as people rushed to her side.

Then everything went black.

When Hermione awoke, she found that she was shackled to the wall in the manor's dungeon. Panic began to set in until she took a few deep breaths and got her head straight.

Her wand was nowhere to be seen, but with focus on her left wrist, Hermione whispered, "Alohomora," concentrating hard, imagining the locking mechanism.

Her wandless magic worked.

The cuff popped open and she turned to her right wrist and repeated the process, then proceeded to the shackles on her ankles.

She rubbed her wrists as she took in the cell she was in. She approached the door and peered through the bars. There were no guards.

Cocky of Narcissa to leave her alone. Narcissa should have known better.

Testing the door, Hermione found it unlocked. It creaked as she moved it, but nobody came running down the hall to stop her, so nobody was there for sure.

Hermione quickly made her way to the exit and up the stairs where she found the manor deserted. No house elves to be seen, no Malfoys to be found, nobody.

She kicked off her stilettos and crept to the windows.

Hermione peered through the windows overlooking the garden and saw two cloaked figures hovering over a slab of stone.

Hermione paled as she realized Cassiopeia was laying on top of that stone.

Hermione, though panicking, managed to keep a cool head and headed to the kitchen where she grabbed a butcher knife. There was no time to search for her wand, and it was probably in Draco's possession anyway.

She ripped the bottom of her dress with the knife, tossing the chopped up fabric to the ground. She wanted free moment of her legs. Such a shame to ruin a beautiful dress, but it was necessary.

Hermione strode confidently to the french doors leading to the garden, and pushed them open.

She didn't try to hide her noise, wanting them to know that she was on her way.

As she approached what were probably Narcissa and Draco, she heard ominous chanting and saw the glistening of a dagger in the moonlight, about to come down on the chest of her infant daughter.

With a war cry that would have made Godric Gryffindor proud, Hermione leapt into action, holding her butcher knife out and slashing one of the figure's arms.

Narcissa screamed and the dagger fell from her hands, clattering to the ground.

Draco pushed his hood off and ran to his mother who had collapsed on the ground, holding her forearm as it gushed blood.

Hermione held the knife out in front of her and positioned herself between Cassiopeia and the two Malfoys.

"We are not doing this." Hermione hissed.

Draco looked up at her, "You woke up too early. Hermione, this tradition must occur. It is sacred. Cassiopeia will go to a better place. Put the knife down and see reason."

"NO! You see reason! She is an innocent who is caught in your twisted game of pureblood traditions that have no merit!" Hermione shouted, gripping the butcher knife tighter. "The curse is mere days away from being broken!"

Draco rose, towering over Hermione.

"Put the knife down." He commanded, taking a step closer to her.

Hermione swung the knife at him, forcing him to retreat.

Hermione was angry. So angry that she felt her magic crackling around her. Sparks danced at the tips of her hair and across her arms and fingers. She was accidental magic waiting to happen.

Draco sensed this, and did his best to calm her down.

"My love, let us do this. You can participate. Cassiopeia will feel no pain, it will be quick, simple, and over in a matter of minutes. We cannot wait for the curse to be broken, there is no guarantee that it will be. Please, don't make me do this the hard way."

"Oh, we're doing this the hard way," Hermione laughed, "I'm going to make this hard. If you don't back the fuck off, I will not hesitate to hurt and possibly kill you."

"'Mione, I love Cassie too, but this is what is best for her. It's what is best for the family."

"For what? A male heir? We could have tried until we got one! There's no need to sacrifice a baby to guarantee one!"

"If we don't sacrifice her, bad luck will befall the Malfoys."

"As if it already hasn't. Might I remind you, YOU lost the war, and you're still atoning for your crimes," Hermione hissed, hitting a soft spot for Draco.

"That's uncalled for."

"All's fair in love and war."

Like a flash of lightning, Narcissa leapt to her feet and charged Hermione, knocking the knife out of Hermione's hands. Narcissa tackled Hermione to the ground and sat on top of her, locking her arms and legs down with her body.

"Draco, finish the ceremony." Narcissa said quietly.

Draco quickly picked up the dagger and approached the baby once more.

Hermione screamed as he brought the knife down to her chest and a bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck Draco's hands, knocking the dagger out of his hands and back to the ground.

Narcissa lost focus for a few seconds, which was all the time Hermione needed to knock the elder witch off of her body and punch her in the nose.

Hermione rolled on top of Narcissa and began to punch her repeatedly in the face.

Using brute force, Hermione grabbed Narcissa's head, and twisted hard. She heard a distinct snap and Narcissa went limp, her eyes blank.

Hermione had just killed her mother-in-law.

Hermione looked at Draco with a look that could kill.

Draco stared at the lifeless form of his mother, his mouth agape.

Hermione rose from the ground and approached him, shoving him back with all her might.

"Back away from my daughter." She growled. She kept her eyes trained on Draco as she picked the butcher knife back up and kicked the dagger into the grass.

She approached Draco and held the knife to his throat as she patted him down, looking for a wand.

She found his, and used it to call up a patronus, which she sent directly to the Aurors office in the ministry.

"Sit." Hermione commanded.

Draco complied and sat on the ground, right next to his mother's lifeless body. His eyes darted back and forth between Hermione and Narcissa, not knowing where to focus his attention.

Hermione waited in silence for five minutes, during which Cassiopeia woke and started screaming. Hermione wanted to cradle her daughter, but didn't dare take her eyes off Draco. He was still dangerous. He could overpower her easily if she lost focus.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Harry and his fellow Aurors showed up in droves, surrounding Draco with their wands pointed at him.

"One move and we'll stun you into oblivion," Harry said calmly.

Hermione let the knife clatter to the ground as she rushed to her screaming daughter and cradled Cassiopeia in her arms.

"Shhhhh, it's all over now," Hermione cooed as she rocked her baby, "It's okay, mummy's here now."

The Auroras cleaned everything up in a matter of minutes. They secured the perimeter, searched for any possible, but unlikely cohorts, and moved Narcissa's body.

Harry informed Hermione that Bill had been waiting by their office for a patronus to come, and he informed them of everything as they prepared to storm the manor.

The next few days were a blur for Hermione. She had to visit the ministry multiple times and give the same statement over and over again, all to different people.

Christmas passed by unrecognized. Hermione spent the day in the nursery, holding and rocking Cassiopeia, cherishing her moments with her infant daughter, moments that were almost no more.

Her baby's first Christmas, and no pictures taken to commemorate it. No Christmas feast. Presents left untouched, still wrapped, under the tree. Nobody stopped by to say hello. Hermione was glad. She couldn't host company. The wounds were still too fresh to put on a brave face.

Wizenmagots convened to convict Draco on attempted murder.

Draco sung like a canary and cooperated, going deep into detail on the tradition his family had held for generations, explaining the ritual behind it, and what would have happened if he had succeeded.

Bill testified on what he had found, and that the curse was broken a week after the solstice.

Wizenmagots decided not to try Hermione for murdering Narcissa Malfoy, determining that it was an act of self defense.

The Prophet plastered the story front page every day for two full weeks.  
After a week, Hermione had to finally address the press, they had been hounding her at her doorstep. It was a solemn press conference. Hermione wore all black, mourning the loss of her fairy tale life.

Cassiopeia was completely unaware as to the turmoil surrounding her and her sacred life. She was none the wiser, the innocence of babies shining through. She never left Hermione's side. Hermione set up a cot in the nursery just to stay with Cassiopeia, terrified that the elves would finish the job in a final allegiance to Narcissa.

Two days before the New Year, the paranoia fully set in, and Hermione freed the elves, much to their dismay.

Draco was sentenced fifteen years in Azkaban.

Hermione sent him divorce papers two weeks after he arrived in his cell. It was uncommon for witches and wizards to divorce, but this was a special circumstance.

Hermione considered fighting to take the Manor, but with all the woes that had befallen her in its walls, she decided to write it off and take the seaside cottage by the White Cliffs of Dover.

There, she raised Cassiopeia as a single mother.

Draco wrote to her everyday, begging for forgiveness. Hermione threw each letter in the fire, not bothering to read them.

Hermione swore to never lie to her daughter, and when Cassiopeia started to ask questions as to why she didn't have a father like her friends, Hermione told her the blunt, cold, hard truth of how Cassiopeia was almost sacrificed in a blood magic ritual. Little Cassie was five. A heavy truth to bear for such a small child, but Hermione didn't want any secrets to be kept from her, and for Cassiopeia to be the last to know her own history. Hermione held it as the right thing to do.

Cassiopeia grew up into an exceptional witch, thankfully taking more after her mother than her father. Hermione was thrilled that she didn't have to look into the face of her ex-husband every morning as Cassiopeia woke up and grew.

The only thing that Cassiopeia had to remind Hermione of her father was her hair, pale blonde wild curly hair.

Again! Leave reviews and favorite! Let me know how I did!


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